The First Vice President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Ikechukwu Nnamani has spoken and given a verdict on sundry issues in the Nigerian Information and Communications technology sector, especially as it affects the digital economy initiative of the federal government.
Specifically, Nnamani, who is also the Chief Executive officer of Medallion Communications Limited, owner of Nigeria’s largest data center, commended the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for their efforts in building a digital economy in the country.
He believes that the moves by the Ministry and the telecoms regulator are certain to put Nigeria on the path to driving economic growth that will ultimately, deliver digital transformation.
“The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy’s commitment to the implementation of the government’s national digital economy strategy would help the country achieve growth and development. I also believe that, with the support of NCC, NITDA and other government agencies in the implementation of the digital policy, Nigeria’s economy will in the next few years take a new shape,” he said in a statement sent to Journalists via email.
Speaking further, Mr. Nnamani assured that ATCON as a body has also keyed into the digital agenda, hence, its plan to deepen discussions on the matter through the forthcoming national dialogue on ICT, which is scheduled to hold next months in Abuja.
He disclosed that the event is targeted at changing the narrative of the country’s development through the optimal utilization of digital resources and to achieve this, State Governors, Ministries, Agencies and Sectors like Agriculture, Education, Oil & Gas, Health, Industry, Trade and Investment, Security and Defence have been invited along with telecom and ICT companies.
He added that the strategic dialogue plans to bring together the Presidency, National Assembly, relevant Federal Ministries, State Governors, ICT State Commissioners, Telecom and ICT Operating Companies, World Bank and other relevant international agencies. According to him, “the strategic objectives of the proposed National Dialogue are to channel collaborative efforts toward Nigerian Digital Economy with the sole aim of accelerating our economy’s performance in relation to other leading African countries and to serve as a forum to discuss the recently launched documents on Digital Economy and take stakeholders input for implementation.